Former Mississippi congressman involved in youth sports scuffle

12/1/2009

Former Mississippi congressman involved in youth sports scuffle

Former U.S. Congressman Chip Pickering was recently involved in a physical altercation with the coach of a 10- and 11-year-old boys soccer team. According to various reports the congressman engaged in a verbal altercation with the coach in the parking lot before physically pulling him out of his vehicle, at which point the men continued to scuffle.

According to Pickering, he approached the coach for verbally abusing his son, who he claims was innocently roughhousing with another boy, and that he only attacked the coach in self defense once the conversation got heated. The coach is claiming he was unjustly attacked by Pickering.

Both men were arrested for simple assault charges, but will attempt to settle the matter privately before their assigned court date.

Coach and parent disputes are not uncommon in youth sports, however, adults must always maintain proper perspective and never demonstrate behavior that is detrimental for children to witness. If a parent is unhappy with a coach’s conduct, coaches can encourage them to handle it in a more discreet manner by discussing their concerns with a league administrator, or by using the NAYS Coach Rating System.

The NAYS Coach Rating System enables parents to rate a coach in a confidential and professional manner. The evaluation system consists of 14 questions designed to gauge how well a volunteer coach is performing in his or her role in the eyes of parents, administrators and officials. The system is extremely valuable for providing feedback to coaches looking to understand what areas they are strong in and what, if any, areas they should focus on improving. It also can serve as a useful tool for avoiding ugly parent-coach confrontations like the one involving Mr. Pickering.